March 8,
2013
Dear Friends and
Neighbors,
Welcome to another busy
week in Olympia. We’re just past the halfway point of the 2013 legislative
session, and are winding down the first week that’s been devoted entirely to
debating and voting on bills on the Senate floor. Next Wednesday is the deadline
for any bills that originated in the Senate to be approved and sent to the House
of Representatives for further consideration (and vice-versa in the House). This
is always an exciting time of year.
In
this edition of the Eastsider's Report, I’ll provide an update on two bills I
sponsored which passed the Senate this week. One creates a raffle to support the
Special Olympics and the other would enhance the experience of students enrolled
in culinary and viniculture programs at Walla Walla Community College. I’ll also
highlight the package of bills the Senate approved on Wednesday to reform our
state’s education system and reconnect the resources our state puts into the
system with results. I’m proud that the Senate is taking the lead in improving
education for all of our state’s students, and that we’re doing it through a
collaborative and bipartisan effort.
If
you have thoughts, questions or concerns with any issue facing our state, I’m
interested to hear about them. You can always email
me or call me in Olympia at
(360) 786-7630. Please don’t hesitate to let me know if I can be of assistance
to you in any way.
Thank you for the
continued opportunity to serve you in the state Senate.
Sincerely,
Sen. Mike
Hewitt
Education-reform
proposals
On
Wednesday, the Senate approved nine bills aimed at reconnecting resources with
results in our state’s education system. As we have discussed in recent weeks, there’s currently no
measurable correlation between the amount of funding a district receives from
the state and the outcomes of its students.
One of my goals for this
session is to increase funding for basic education, but it doesn’t make sense to
put more resources into the same old system. We need to ensure that your tax
dollars are being used effectively, and that we’re improving the education
experience of all of our state’s students – regardless of race, region or
economic background.
Making changes to our
education system is never easy, but it needs to be done. Our state’s graduation
rate has been hovering at around 76 percent for several years. Put another way,
we’re failing one out of every four students that enters our public school
system. That’s simply not acceptable.
Fortunately, there is
broad consensus among teachers and the public for a move towards evidence-based
education principles. As an example, a recent poll conducted by Excellent Schools Now revealed that
around 80 percent of voters and teachers agree that common learning standards
allow for better comparability and monitoring between different states. Around
70 percent of voters and the public agree that common standards in English and
math will improve student learning and achievement. A link to the full poll can
be found here.
Below are brief
summaries of the key bills approved by the Senate this week. If you’d like more
information on any of the measures, clicking on the bill number will take you to
its legislative webpage.
Senate Bill 5237 - Establishing
accountability for student performance in reading
Emphasizes the
importance of reading at grade-level by the end of third grade. If a student
fails 3rd-grade reading assessment a meeting with parents, teacher and principal
would be called to decide whether to retain the student in 3rd grade or move
along to 4th grade with required summer school attendance.
Senate Bill 5242 - Regarding assignment
of certificated instructional staff
School districts would
be required to adopt a policy where teachers and other school staff must reach a
mutual agreement with the school principal for staff assignments.
Senate Bill 5243 - Academic acceleration
for high school students
Automatically enrolls
students in advanced course offerings like Advanced Placement, International
Baccalaureate and others, if a student is meeting state academic standards.
Districts must notify students about the policy, and parents or guardians would
be provided the opportunity to opt-out on behalf of the student.
Senate Bill 5244 - Regarding school
discipline
Would require that
school disciplinary action have a set end date, rather than the current practice
of allowing indefinite suspensions and expulsions. Also encourages schools to
provide educational services to suspended or expelled students and requires the
Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to track data on
student discipline.
Senate Bill 5328 - Creating a
school-grading program
Uses current statewide
achievement index established by the state Board of Education and OSPI to label
schools on an A through F grading system to create transparency and awareness
for parents and the community. Districts that have at least one school
designated as an “F” under the program would be designated as “required action
districts,” be subject to the state accountability system and would be eligible
to receive funding to improve their status.
Senate Bill 5330 - Improving student
achievement and outcomes
Encourages the use of
evidence-based education programs like the Learning Assistance Program for
students with behavioral issues. Also reduces class sizes, encourages bilingual
education and adds a teacher mentor program for new and probationary
teachers.
Senate Bill 5491 - Establishing
statewide indicators of educational health
Establishes six
statewide indicators for the health of the education system, ranging from
kindergarten assessments through postsecondary enrollment data.
Senate Bill 5587 - Concerning
student assessments
Requires that starting
in 2018, students must meet state requirements for English and math in order to
graduate. Aligns our testing with common core standards, which emphasizes career
and college readiness.
Senate Bill 5794 - Concerning
alternative learning
Reforms the state’s
alternative learning system to streamline education experiences across the
state. Also allows for more remote learning.
Senate
approves proposal to support Special Olympics
A bill I proposed to
allow raffles in support of the Special Olympics was approved by the Senate on
Tuesday. As many of you know, the Special Olympics is a sports organization for
individuals with developmental disabilities, and they make a tremendous
difference in the lives of these individuals, both in our community and across
the country.
Senate Bill
5723 would allow the state to
operate up to four enhanced raffles each year to support individuals with
developmental disabilities through the Special Olympics. The value of the grand
prize from the raffle would be up to $5 million, with individual ticket prices
being capped at $250.
The Special Olympics is
an incomparable organization and it is an honor to be able to bring SB 5723
forward. The bill now moves to the House of Representatives, where it has been
referred to the Government Accountability and Oversight Committee.
Bill to
benefit food and wine programs at Walla Walla Community college moves
forward
A proposal to benefit
students enrolled in culinary, wine and beer programs at Walla Walla Community
College was approved by the state Senate yesterday. I proposed Senate Bill
5774, which would create a
special permit to allow students aged 18 and over and enrolled in the school’s
culinary, wine and beer programs to taste, but not consume alcohol.
I know that there’s
going to be a degree of concern anytime we talk about allowing minors to taste
alcohol, but this is strictly about enhancing a student’s understanding of what
will be an integral component of their career. It’s every bit as essential to
their learning as allowing biology majors to interact with plants would
be.
As someone who spent his
private-sector career in the beer and wine business, I am extremely sensitive to
the need to prevent underage drinking. That’s why there are strict sidebars in
the bill to ensure that students would only be allowed to ‘sip and spit’ the
alcohol.
